can life experience compensate low stats?

Depends on how low, below 3.0 and 18AA you virtually have no chance. If “low” is 3.5 and 19AA then you do have a chance.

 

The more germane questions is whether or not those "life experiences" will help you pass gross anatomy, histology, pathology, to name a few pre clinical courses.

 

If by life experience you mean hardships that can possibly explain the low stats, then they may compensate a little

 

There are basically three categories of stats; grades, test scores, and extracurriculars. If one of them is bad, it really helps if the other two are good. Some schools like a good personal story, but you can't expect it to carry the entire load!

 

from the perspective of someone who served on the admissions committee, life experience is one of the ONLY things that can compensate for poor stats (and it depends on how poor... if it's so poor there's doubt if you can handle dental school, then no go. But if it's just one or two bad grades or below average DAT scores, you're still fine).

Think about like this... school wants to have a high average DAT/GPA to brag about. If they're going to accept someone with below average stats, there has to be a reason to balance that. And the reason is, this individual can contribute something outstanding to the class, either because of their life hardships, or unique careers like being in the army or being some diamond gemologist, or unique experiences (Mormon missions trip, working for NASA), or being a parent. These would make you stand out from the more typical science major grads with strong stats. It's your job to present your life experiences in a way that stands out positively and help the admission officer mentally fit you into the class

 

What is the best way to convey that kind of information to adcoms? For example, I am an accountant who has both worked and took classes for a few years now, growing and doing well both academically and professionally. Is there a section on the AADSAS app for a CV or is it expected to put that kind of information in a supplementary app?

 

think about the components of your application: there's the grades, activities/awards, 3-4 letters of recommendations, personal statement, and some supplemental essays. The last 3 offer opportunities for you or other people to explain how your experiences as a successful accountant will make you a stellar dentist. I would pick a dominant theme in your personal statement-- let's say a theme of you being very analytical and you like to work through problems systematically-- and then use that to connect your previous interest in accounting to your newfound interest in dentistry. Dig deep hope this helps

 

Don't let anyone tell you you have LOW stats!